SEATTLE — About 100 Filipino Americans, members of Bayan Pacific Northwest, Malaya Movement Seattle, and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, as well as Socialist Workers Party members and others gathered April 9 at Jose Rizal Park here to demand justice for nine Filipino activists killed by cops in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines March 7. The cop attacks are being called “Bloody Sunday.”
They marched to a nearby bridge overpass to hang banners saying, “Stop the killings in the Philippines” and “Defend Southern Tagalog.” Then they marched back to the park for a rally. Speakers from the three Filipino groups described the growing repression by the government of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, including the killings of trade union and political activists.
On April 11 activists went to a local mall in Tukwila, Washington, and did a die-in outside a Filipino restaurant to memorialize the slain activists. They marched out of the mall chanting their slogans.
In addition to protesting the government’s murderous assaults, activists are calling on Congress to pass the Philippine Human Rights Act, which would suspend U.S. military aid to the Philippines.